Serbia’s Student List Wins Majority and Promises to Halt Arms Sales to Conflict Zones
Serbia’s Student List won the October 25, 2026 parliamentary election with 52.65% of the vote, giving the movement a majority in the 250-seat parliament. Its representatives said they would restrict Serbian arms exports to conflict zones, including sales to Western intermediaries that transfer weapons to Ukraine. The bloc also said it would not join EU sanctions against Russia, indicating continuity in Belgrade’s foreign-policy direction.
Key points
- The Student List won 52.65% of the vote in Serbia’s October 25, 2026 parliamentary election.
- United Serbia led by Aleksandar Vučić received 39.22%; the Stability Factor bloc led by Ivica Dačić received 2.17%.
- All other political forces received less than 1%, and no other force crossed the 3% threshold.
- Vučić conceded defeat on the evening of October 25, before official results and exit-poll data were published.
- The Student List said it would stop arms exports to conflict zones, potentially including Western intermediaries that supply Ukraine.
- The bloc said it would not join EU sanctions against Russia and does not plan to change its foreign-policy course toward Moscow.
- A reported 68.78% turnout drew 4,211,957 voters; one cited analysis instead reported 65%.
Why it matters
The election brought an end to the long electoral cycle associated with Vučić’s government and handed a parliamentary majority to a movement built around student-led anti-corruption protests. The proposed arms-export restrictions could disrupt Serbian ammunition and military equipment reaching Ukraine through intermediaries. At the same time, statements from the incoming leadership point to continuity in Serbia’s policy toward Russia, EU sanctions and Russian energy supplies rather than a clear pro-Western realignment. Serbia’s dependence on Russian gas and US exemptions for crude-oil imports further complicate the new government’s economic agenda.
What happened
The Student List won 52.65% of the vote and secured a majority in Serbia’s 250-seat parliament. United Serbia, led by Vučić, received 39.22%, while Ivica Dačić’s Stability Factor bloc took 2.17%; every other force received less than 1%. Vučić conceded defeat on October 25, before official results or exit-poll data had been published, and tens of thousands subsequently celebrated the student movement’s victory in Belgrade and other Serbian cities.
Representatives of the winning bloc said they intended to stop Serbian arms sales to regions and zones where fighting is taking place. The proposed restriction could extend to Western intermediaries that transfer the weapons to Ukraine. However, the bloc also said it would not join EU sanctions against Russia and proposed conducting domestic reforms and completing negotiations with the EU before submitting Serbia’s accession to a public vote.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage focuses on the potential consequences for Ukraine, particularly the possibility that routes used to supply Serbian ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine would disappear. It also highlights the reported scale of earlier exports through intermediaries and contrasts Serbia’s financial and diplomatic support for Ukraine with its refusal to join EU sanctions against Russia.
How international sources describe it
The supplied material consists of Ukrainian-language media and agency reports, with some international reporting and assessments cited indirectly. The main internationally framed issues are the election result, the incoming government’s policy toward Russia and EU sanctions, its proposed arms-export restrictions, and the economic constraints affecting Serbia’s energy and sanctions decisions.
Where reporting differs
Turnout figures differ. One cited analysis reported 65%, while election commission figures put turnout at 68.78%, or 4,211,957 voters.
Background
The election followed nearly two years of student-led protests against corruption, authoritarianism and lack of accountability. The protests began after a railway-station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people. Vučić dissolved parliament on September 9, 2026, and resigned as president on September 27 to run for prime minister. The Student List comprises 250 academics, lecturers, athletes and doctors and is headed by cardiologist Ilija Srđanović.
Serbia suspended arms and military-equipment exports in 2025, requiring later shipments to receive approval from the National Security Council. Before that suspension, an estimated €800 million worth of Serbian ammunition reached Ukraine through Western intermediaries between the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion and mid-2024.